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Doctor Cat presents itself as a game with modest aspirations but stumbles in its attempt to tackle significant topics such as mental health and psychotherapy. While its intention is commendable and it manages to convey the weight of certain issues, particularly in everyday life, it ultimately falls short in delivering a deeper exploration. The writing, especially the dialogues, lacks the depth needed to fully engage with the complexity of these themes. While it maintains simplicity in its approach, with some additional technical refinement needed, such as in the music department, it could have better emphasized the importance of the topics it sought to address. Therefore, while Doctor Cat is honest in its simplicity, it misses the mark on fully realizing its potential to effectively discuss these vital issues
Who hasn’t ever jokingly entertained the remote possibility of being trapped in their own mind? The brilliance of the game is in the way we can manipulate the environment. You know those dreams where physics and optics make no sense and seem to follow their own rules? Well, imagine being able to dictate those laws yourself. And you’ve got Superliminal.
Midnight Ghost Hunt presents itself as a unique and entertaining gaming experience, cleverly blending elements of different genres to offer an adrenaline-fueled, tension-filled gameplay sprinkled with a good dose of dark humor. If you are looking for a title that offers unforgettable evenings with your friends, Midnight Ghost Hunt is definitely an option not to be underestimated. Developed by Vaulted Sky Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing, Midnight Ghost Hunt is an asymmetrical multiplayer game blending shooter and brawler genres, released on PC on March 31, 2022
Once familiarized, we will appreciate the frightening variety and depth of Scarlet Tower. Eight playable characters, very different from each other and highly customizable, dozens of passive abilities and runes… Just this is enough to describe the extremely high longevity and the desire of the developers to leave complete choice to the player. Yes, it’s repetitive, it’s true, but if taken in small doses, it becomes a pleasant and rewarding pastime, chasing the distant goal of reaching the final levels.
Lotus Lantern is certainly a neat product, with some flaws but really fun. Furthermore, it is the second top-down action roguelite that comes from Chinese developers together with Realm of Ink. The feedback from the hits (both given and taken) is good and fluid, although with so much stuff on the screen you risk having little clarity and sometimes not seeing the opponent’s bullets. Lotus Lantern is still too calibrated in favor of the character. Also considering that the story ends after a few complete runs. In closing, Lotus Lantern still has a long way to go, even if the path taken is the right one.
It’s impressive how after dozens of hours of play, you come across situations never seen before, or you manage to build an entirely new deck. Among attack, defense, support cards, or even curses that hinder battles and our ascent, we have almost endless possibilities, even in the synergy that sparks with the use of potions and the possession of relics. It’s almost a pity to win a game because when starting over we will lose our powerful deck that allowed us to triumph.
Murders on the Yangtze River presents a complex picture, characterized by elements of strong appeal as well as by significant limitations. On one hand, the game succeeds in capturing the interest of players by offering a deduction and puzzle-solving experience that, at various moments, shines for its ingenuity and proposes some original ideas that stimulate the mind and invite deep engagement. The ability to immerse players in a fascinating historical context, along with the construction of a narrative that weaves mysteries and investigations along the banks of the majestic Yangtze River, contributes to creating a memorable setting that enriches the gaming experience.
Skaramazuzu is a 2D graphic adventure, hand-drawn in a black and white style, simple yet expressive and impactful. Its aesthetics and storytelling are its strengths. It’s an enjoyable and at times moving title, full of beautiful positive messages conveyed with irony and lightness, but also with more intense and incisive moments. At times, it can be a bit tedious when continuously revisiting the same areas and talking to the same characters, even though the dialogues change each time. Skaramazuzu is a philosophical video game that utilizes the concept of archetypes and myth to create an original story that touches on universal themes.
Death of a Wish is a game where simplicity has its own sense of being. Despite its apparent simplicity, it hides a depth of interesting mechanics both in the combat system and in the general gameplay. It is certainly a game that expects the player to learn its mechanics quickly. The visual style, although fascinating and original, sometimes works against the player and the combat system, creating confusion during some battles and when viewing the character menu. If you love an original style and a good challenge, Death of a Wish is definitely made for you.
Stalker: Legends of the Zone brings the historic Stalker trilogy to old gen and next gen. A remarkable work that demonstrates GSC’s love for the series. Some small errors that can be solved in the future via patches, overall an excellent job.
Every mistake, every waste of valor points, every death of an ally, every failed mission, serves as a teacher. There are few videogames (and I assure you, being a hopeless lover of the most difficult games) that manage to convey such a sense of triumph and achievement as Wartales. We as players grow alongside our characters, treasure the harsh lessons taught by the game, devise ever more imaginative tactics to bypass or nullify the obstacles in our path, and eventually come to dominate the game.
Alterium Shift certainly has some excellent ideas and you can see that the developers love and know the world of JRPGs well. Perhaps they are tied too much to that world and inevitably bring into their game the defects and dynamics of games created almost 30 years ago. However, this is not a final judgment because the game is still in early access and the story ends exactly at the best moment. We have to take into account whether the mechanics and ideas will hold up throughout all the title and whether the rough edges will be fixed.
Penny’s Big Breakaway is a 3D platformer that harks back to the old days, creating a positive nostalgia effect, especially for its music and graphical choices. Its core and ideas work, proving to be original and well-thought-out. Even the aspects that aren’t original are well executed and have their own charm. It has some flaws, especially on a technical level, but still guarantees hours of fun
Emerging on the verge of death from a dungeon, with the party on the brink and afflicted by a chain of debuffs, without supplies or potions, and returning triumphantly to the fortress to sell the loot and invest all the earnings in new equipment and upgrades, provides a unique satisfaction, one capable of curling the corners of the mouth into an involuntary smile.
Please, Touch The Artwork 2 is an incredibly immersive and evocative experience that tells a story. Its developer, Thomas Waterzooi, has gifted us a true gem, through which we now know so much not only about Belgian art, but about art in general, without ever being didactic. He entrusted us with everything, merely allowing us to touch the artwork.
Don’t underestimate Doki Doki Literature Club! Whether sensitive to the subject or not, this game hurts. Dan Salvato manages to give so much personality, so much life to sprites, that you’ll perceive them as people, empathize or even associate them with someone you’ve known or heard of. And seeing the slow, agonizing nightmare he’s prepared for them (and for you) is painful.
A Thug’s Ascension is a first-person shooter where the narrative component takes the lead and becomes the protagonist, alongside the direction, of this video game that, however, still seems to be in draft phase, especially from a graphical point of view. The story comes to life after a while, but as soon as you delve deeper and get to know the characters’ twists and nuances, you can truly appreciate the aspect Moonwalk Games gave more importance to, namely the quality and truthfulness of the dialogues and the depth of the themes addressed. It’s a shame that equal importance wasn’t given to the rest, to make it something that could be defined as a full-fledged video game, rather than a visual novel with some shooting, which leaves a bit to be desired.
Enshrouded showcases an excellent fusion of survival elements and creativity, establishing itself as a notable title in the action role-playing game scene. While players eagerly await the full launch, the early access version already provides a significant glimpse into the game’s potential.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect presents itself to the player with style and a strong personality despite being a spin-off. The Characters are extremely refined and charismatic. The game shows its best in gameplay. Frantic, fast, satisfying and extremely varied. Despite this, a certain brevity of the main narrative arc and the few stages could discourage more “casual” players from replaying. An excellent title that gives hope for the future of this year.
If you’re looking for a captivating and somewhat atypical point-and-click adventure, if you’re passionate about animation styles as bizarre as they are classic, or if you simply want to enjoy a beautiful story with crazy puzzles all in one package, then The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo is the game for you!